Credit: David McMurry
Today, the Virginia-born, Los Angeles based artist, songwriter and producer Swamp Dogg released “Count The Days” (feat. Jenny Lewis), the second song to be released from his forthcoming album Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St, his first record with Oh Boy Records that will be released on May 31. The effervescent new single which was first released in 1967 by Inez and Charlie Foxx and re-envisioned here, arrives with an official music video featuring Swamp and Lewis recording the track at Nashville’s Sound Emporium.
Watch the official video for “Count The Days” (feat. Jenny Lewis).
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About the song, Swamp Dogg explains: “I figured, once a hit, always a hit—and this song has been a hit three times with Inez and Charlie Foxx, Joss Stone, and Gene Pitney. After hearing Jenny Lewis’ voice, I knew it was destined to be a hit again.”
“Count The Days” follows the release of the “Mess Under That Dress” which was met with acclaim from BrooklynVegan, Exclaim, Stereogum, and The New York Times. Last month, the feature-length documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted premiered at SXSW and received raves from The Austin Chronicle and The Hollywood Reporter who called it, “a documentary that draws its voice and aesthetic from the spirit of its subject, resulting in a tight 97 minutes that feel organic and satisfying and, as befits that subject, appealingly odd.” Rolling Stone also included Swamp Dogg’s official showcase in their Best of SXSW roundup proclaiming, “Swamp Dogg sounded bold and robust, his vigor encouraging his band to ratchet up the energy… every musician on stage was locked into an undeniable groove.”
Produced by Ryan Olson (Poliça, Gayngs) and recorded with an all-star band including Noam Pikelny, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, Chris Scruggs, Billy Contreras, and Kenny Vaughan, the 12-song collection is a riotous blend of past and present, mixing the sacred and the profane in typical Swamp Dogg fashion as it blurs the lines between folk, roots, country, blues, and soul. Special guests like Margo Price, Vernon Reid, Jenny Lewis, Justin Vernon, and The Cactus Blossoms all add to the excitement, but it’s ultimately the 81-year-old Swamp Dogg’s delivery—sly and playful and full of genuine joy and ache—that steals the show.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t do anything but sing these songs the way I would have sung them if it was an R&B album. That’s just the way the music comes out of me, and it would have been unholy for me to try and imitate anybody else,” explains Swamp Dogg about the making of the album. “Black music has had so many different labels put on it over the years that sometimes I’m onstage and I don’t know what the hell it is that I’m singing,” Swamp Dogg says with a laugh. “The only thing I know how to do is be myself.”
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